put on your war paint
by BleepBlapBloop
Summary: Being called the leader among his human friends is one thing, but having actual werewolves look up to him could lead to something else entirely.


Here's the thing, I'm absolutely amazed by Scott's character development. I can't believe how much the clueless kid with the skewed sense of priorities from Season 1 has grown and matured. And since I couldn't find any Scott-centric fics I decided to write one myself.

Title from "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy.

I own nada. If I owned TW Erica would still be alive, believe me.

* * *

_You're an Alpha now, Scott._

/ / /

It's not like he's never actually thought about it.

The people he loves are all in danger because of him, because of what he is, so he may be against murder on principle but sacrificing himself doesn't always sound that bad.

He wants to do good, to protect his mother and his friends and every innocent person that somehow gets involved in the mess that is his life, but he keeps failing miserably every time he tries to help.

He's useless, too young and too weak to carry the world on his shoulders.

How could he _not_ think sometimes that he doesn't deserve to live?

/ / /

_I want to see what you're made of._

/ / /

It's Ethan thanking him for saving his life – instead of thanking Stiles or the girls, even though they're all _right there_ and it's actually them who did the saving – that gets Scott thinking.

Ethan is different. As in a werewolf. And Scott would really rather not think about what happened there, about whatever it was that two sixteen-year-old boys had to do in order to become part of Deucalion's pack and why they wanted that in the first place and who they had to ki –

No. Stop.

What he does think about, what suddenly becomes clear as day is the fact that this –

This is a wolf thing. This is Ethan recognizing him as the leader of their little pack and once again Scott wishes he could go back to ScottandStiles against the rest of the world, back to being an asthmatic kid who could barely play lacrosse for ten minutes before needing his inhaler and who never dared to stand up for himself, let alone try and protect others, no werewolves or Kanimas or druid sacrifices to worry about.

But this is his life now and he has to make do.

Ethan's saying Derek might be alive and Scott is relieved, of course he is, but he starts thinking that, maybe, what is happening to him doesn't really have anything to do with Derek.

/ / /

_You're right. I wanna be like you._

/ / /

He never asked for this. Unlike Isaac and Boyd and Erica, Scott never had a choice and no, he's not going to bitch and moan about it, there is no point, it's not like he can change anything, and, honestly, he's come to terms with who and what he has become.

But what he can't and won't do is let anyone brainwash him and make him forget what his mother has taught him, how his upbringing has shaped him.

So he's not human anymore, but that doesn't mean he's going to turn into a raging psychopath whose default plan is murder nine times out of ten, and if everyone is so intent on believing he's meant to be a leader instead of a soldier in this war that should have never been his, well –

Then they better accept that he's going to do things his way.

/ / /

_You're not an Omega_._You_'_re already an Alpha, of your own pack_.

/

Here are the things Scott knows: Peter killed his own niece. Derek slashed his uncle's throat. Deucalion kills his pack members.

So no, he really doesn't want to become an Alpha.

/ / /

_Because I trust you._

/ / /

His eyes flash red again as he's looking in the mirror; he really hopes Isaac is asleep and doesn't hear the way his heartbeat speeds up.

He hasn't told anyone yet, not even Stiles, and it's not like he's hiding this from Isaac on purpose –

Well. Maybe he is.

Fuck it, he's planning on hiding this from everyone for as long as he can. Being called the leader among his human friends is one thing, but having actual werewolves look up to him could lead to something else entirely, and Isaac –

Isaac seems so willing to follow Scott's lead, it's a bit unnerving.

There are many things Scott pretends not to notice but Isaac's loyalty isn't one of them. And sometimes he tells himself it's just because Isaac's never had a real friend before, because Isaac knows that Scott cares and wouldn't ever hurt him, but it's obvious the way Isaac lets Scott have control over him goes beyond friendship.

And honestly, sometimes Scott just pretends that Isaac has a crush on him because that's easier to handle than knowing someone would actually _choose_ him as their Alpha if they could.

Except Boyd starts listening to him too, and, well, Scott thinks that a part of him – the one that was unwilling to submit to Peter and later to Derek – knew this was just a matter of time.

/ / /

_Don't stop them. Lead them._

/ / /

He's never been alone, he realizes.

There was Stiles, always, from the very beginning and even before that, and then Allison, and soon after Lydia and Danny and even Jackson for a while.

Peter was right; he'd had a pack before even knowing what having a pack meant and that's where he subconsciously drew his strength from every time he point-blank refused to give up and bare his throat.

Now he has Isaac too, and Boyd, and Derek, who doesn't trust his own family but for some reason actually trusts Scott and believes in him. Hell, even Peter is starting to value his opinions.

And sometimes Scott still feels hopeless and small, a cub amongst lions, a pup amongst wolves. This is not how he pictured his life, almost dying at least twice a month before even turning seventeen was never part of the plan.

But even if he is afraid, since apparently it's him that Deucalion wants now, he's not going to hide and let others do the fighting for him. That's not who he is. He is not a coward.

He was always meant to lead.


End file.
